MOSCOW, February 20 - RAPSI. The Federation Council, the Russian parliaments upper house, approved a bill on Wednesday which fines employers who refuse to hire people with disabilities.

The bill will make employers liable for failing to create the number jobs for people with disabilities stipulated by the government-approved quota, as well as for refusing to hire a disabled person fitting with the quota.

Companies which employ over 100 people are currently required to have a workforce of which 2%-4% are employees with disabilities.

Employers who fail to comply with this requirement will face fines of 5,000-10,000 rubles ($166-$332). The fine facing an employment agency which without justification refuses to register a person with a disability as unemployed will also be increased to the same level.